In patients with mild cognitive impairment, apathy can be a predictor of Alzheimer’s disease

Apathy, the lack or reduced interest in doing something or accomplishing things, is one of the neuropsychiatric symptoms frequently observed in people with cognitive impairment.

“If you go outside big centers like Houston, the diagnosis and everything around the management of Alzheimer's disease relies mainly on clinical markers,” said Antonio L. Teixeira, MD, PhD, professor in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of Neuropsychiatry Program at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “So, our results found that independent of other behavioral problems, apathy by itself was strongly associated with cognitive decline which can really help clinicians be aware of red flags sooner.”

^{Caption: Antonio L. Teixeira, MD, PhD, professor in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Neuropsychiatry Program at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston}

Using the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC) cohort, researchers with UTHealth Houston and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) gave the Neuropsychiatry Inventory Questionnaire to family members and caregivers of the participants. They were asked to measure the presence and severity of 12 neuropsychiatry symptoms in patients with dementia, including apathy.

Eight years of data of 1,092 patients showed that 190 patients developed Alzheimer’s, or 17.3%. The presence of apathy in mild cognitive impairment patients was associated with a 2.40-fold greater hazard of progression to Alzheimer’s disease.

Given the demographics of the state of Texas, the TARCC cohort provided the study with a diverse population, including a significant number of Hispanics.

“Previous studies relied on a relatively homogeneous population, in terms of ethnic backgrounds,” said Teixeira, who is the senior author of the study. “But the TARCC has a significant group of Hispanics, which allowed this study to have a more heterogenous population compared to previous studies.”    

As a result of the findings, Teixeira said clinicians should assess individuals with apathy for earlier intervention.

“The evaluation of apathy is cost-effective and does not rely on expensive equipment,” Teixeira said. “Therefore, assessments of apathy may provide an efficient and highly scalable method for improving risk stratification across clinical settings.”

Haitham Salem, MD, PhD, a former UTHealth Houston psychiatry resident who now is with Brown University, was first author. Co-authors of the study included Robert Suchting, PhD, professor in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and Sudha Seshadri, MD, and Mitzi Gonzales, PhD, both professors in the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative diseases at UT Health San Antonio.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS
Contact
Halle Jones
UTHealth Houston
713-500-3030

Title of paper
“Apathy as a Predictor of Conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC) Cohort-Based Analysis” by Salem, Haitham | Suchting, Robert | Gonzales, Mitzi M. | Seshadri, Sudha | Teixeira, Antonio L., DOI: 10.3233/JAD-220826, published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Volume (92) Issue (1) by IOS Press. https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad220826

Photo credit
UTHealth Houston

About the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
Now in its 25th year of publication, the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD) is an international multidisciplinary journal to facilitate progress in understanding the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, genetics, behavior, treatment, and psychology of Alzheimer’s disease. The journal publishes research reports, reviews, short communications, book reviews, and letters-to-the-editor. Groundbreaking research that has appeared in the journal includes novel therapeutic targets, mechanisms of disease, and clinical trial outcomes. JAD has a Journal Impact Factor of 4.160 according to Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2022). The journal is published by IOS Press. j-alz.com

About IOS Press
IOS Press is an independent international scientific, technical, medical (STM) publishing house established in 1987 in Amsterdam. We produce around 90 journals and 70 books annually in a broad range of subject categories, primarily specializing in health and life sciences (including neurosciences, medical informatics, cancer research, and rehabilitation) and computer sciences (including artificial intelligence, data science, and semantic web). In addition, we offer specialized services that support scientific advancement. iospress.com